Shares of KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $99.10.

KLAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded KLA-Tencor Corporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $103.00 to $106.00 in a report on Sunday. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Cowen and Company reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of KLA-Tencor Corporation in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. BidaskClub cut KLA-Tencor Corporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Credit Suisse Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of KLA-Tencor Corporation in a report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research cut KLA-Tencor Corporation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd.

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KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ KLAC) opened at 92.01 on Tuesday. KLA-Tencor Corporation has a 1-year low of $66.88 and a 1-year high of $109.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $97.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.42. The firm has a market cap of $14.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65 and a beta of 1.62.

KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The semiconductor company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $938.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $923.80 million. KLA-Tencor Corporation had a return on equity of 88.61% and a net margin of 26.61%. KLA-Tencor Corporation’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.77 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA-Tencor Corporation will post $6.70 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a boost from KLA-Tencor Corporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 11th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. KLA-Tencor Corporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.73%.

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In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 314 shares of KLA-Tencor Corporation stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.85, for a total value of $29,154.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 314 shares in the company, valued at $29,154.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bobby R. Bell sold 5,695 shares of KLA-Tencor Corporation stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.54, for a total value of $572,575.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,272 shares of company stock worth $1,097,537 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Ledyard National Bank purchased a new position in shares of KLA-Tencor Corporation during the first quarter worth $135,000. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its position in shares of KLA-Tencor Corporation by 17.4% in the first quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 18,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,730,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA-Tencor Corporation during the first quarter worth $119,000. Reliance Trust Co. of Delaware purchased a new position in shares of KLA-Tencor Corporation during the first quarter worth $366,000. Finally, Affinity Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of KLA-Tencor Corporation during the first quarter worth $233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.96% of the company’s stock.

KLA-Tencor Corporation Company Profile

KLA-Tencor Corporation (KLA-Tencor) is a supplier of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related nanoelectronics industries. The Company’s products are also used in a number of other high technology industries, including the light emitting diode (LED) and data storage industries, as well as general materials research.